I would definitely buy that 2 year agreement. I can't tell you how many RCA tvs went bad sitting on our shelves. The speakers in them are the worst too.

Probably true. I haven't owned an RCA TV in 20 years myself.

RCA as a manufacturer does not exist - it is a brand name that different manufacturers license to stick on their products. RCA grabs your attention more than Coby or Craig. Different "RCA products" like dvd players, televisions, and universal remotes are all made by different companies.

So Walmart is garunteeing Ipad 2's on sale, bluray players for $39 and 37" Tv's for $149 that they will be in stock tomorrow night or you will get a rain check garunteeing store drop off before Christmas. That will get a lot of people in the store and it looks like they realized that the foot traffic is worth giving out rain checks to keep people happy.

Sarcastic wrote:pittsoccer, with what Amazon and Walmart are doing, is there anything BB can do? Is it only about the price or is also BB in need of creating some loyalty among customers?

Best Buy's former CEO (the one with the affair) was huge on market share - sell it at any price, just make sure we sell it and not somebody else. You can see that's not working for them. Even 5+ years ago - they were NOT making any money on electronics - they were making it CDs/DVDs and car audio installs. Remember, tape decks were still standard in cars until sometime in the last 10 years. People wanted CD players in their cars and were scared to do it themselves. Now cars come with somewhat premium stereo equipment that allows USB drive and ipod/mp3 connection.

One idea they are floating now is to buy a brand - like how Sears owns Kenmore. It would take a huge amount of money, but they must have though about buying Vizio. They aren't a manufacturer (which is a game BBY does not want to be involved with) and that would give them instant brand credibility and could lock their rivals out of selling it. Oppo is another one that comes to mind. The article I read mentioned JVC and Hitatchi.

Brands can have loyalty on different levels than a store can. The Samsung tvs that are on sale this weekend are almost universally junk - they are not "Samsung" per se, but few people are making a genuine quality distinction. They are saying "Samsung is a pretty good tv - these must be good too." But they aren't - the contrast sucks and the speakers suck. That loyalty is allowing them to sell for higher prices than comparative quality sets are.

Same with Sony - anyone in the know realizes Sony has made many very subpar products for years. But all all the brands we sold very few people came in saying "I definitely want Panasonic" or "I only want a Samsung." Plenty of people - including practically every foreigner I sold to - wanted nothing BUT a Sony. Whether it was a tv, camera, camcorder, or stereo, and regardless of what better products have cost less.

Last edited by pittsoccer33 on Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

DelPen wrote:So Walmart is garunteeing Ipad 2's on sale, bluray players for $39 and 37" Tv's for $149 that they will be in stock tomorrow night or you will get a rain check garunteeing store drop off before Christmas. That will get a lot of people in the store and it looks like they realized that the foot traffic is worth giving out rain checks to keep people happy.

Yep, albeit its only for 1 hour of the night. Plus, they don't have to ship a bajillion TVs to one store in a day, they can slowly ship them in for pickup.

Fudge this....woke up at 4:30am and went to Kmart in North Versailles. Line was WAY to long for a 40 inch TV. I'm amazed people were out in force on this holiday. Slope at sheets got a latte and now I'm heading back to bed. Worst wake up ever.

What brand of TV do you generally prefer? I always had the impression that Samsungs were quality TVs. Would it be Panasonic?

What about Toshiba? My friend, who is tech savy, raves about Toshiba products.

None of the major brands (Sony, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Vizio) make bad sets once you get past the entry price point models.

Sharp's Elite line are probably the nicest tvs available. They also cost more than a used Jetta. Panasonic's VT series is very highly regarded and are the nicest plasma tvs made.

Samsungs, especially the LEDs, have very saturated colors. Thats one reason they sell so well in the stores. Anyone who wants to get their tv ISF calibrated would not want to buy a Samsung because the colors arent "accurate." That doesnt mean they dont look great, but to the purest something is wrong with them.

Toshiba's brand rep always told us to sell their tvs by driving home the idea that they have the most desirable features (LED, 1080p, 120hz) at the best prices. We didn't carry any of their smart tvs or 3D. Though I found that they were not usually much less money than a comparable Samsung or LG that had internet connectivity.

I own a 2009 Panasonic plasma. If I were buying a new tv this year the internet features wouldnt matter much to me because I use an htpc - I think Samsung and LG have the best internet offerings. I would have to really think about whether I wanted a VT series Panasonic or an LG 8600 or 9600 LED. I like the way LG and Vizio do 3D on their LEDs the best.

FreeCandy44 wrote:Fudge this....woke up at 4:30am and went to Kmart in North Versailles. Line was WAY to long for a 40 inch TV. I'm amazed people were out in force on this holiday. Slope at sheets got a latte and now I'm heading back to bed. Worst wake up ever.

There is no line at the Walmart I drove by while getting me some fresh bread at the bakery.

I decided not to go for the 40 inch Toshiba. I have no use for it.

btw, I feel for you. Honestly, last time I stood out in line for stuff was in the 80's and those were Iron Maiden tickets. It was an over-nighter and our moms drove by around 1AM to bring us coffee and blankets.